Wednesday, January 9, 2013

When Was a Duke a Duke?

by

Shannon Donnally

We tend to think of dukes and viscounts as having always
been around in the British nobility. In fact, these titles were created at
specific dates, often as the result of the ruling monarch looking to reward a
favorite person. English nobility grew as a result of the crown granting a
“Patent” that stipulated the degree of the title and how it could devolve (go
on to future generations). This leads to one of the fun things in
fiction—creating your characters background.

It’s great fun to make up things—and inventing the
background for a character’s title means going back in time. Perhaps you here
has a recent creation—he’s only the first earl. Or perhaps, as in A Much Compromised Lady, the earldom
dates back to Saxon times—meaning it’s a more important title than any newer
dukedom. What all of this means is that you have to have some idea of when
titles first came into use.

In England, King and queen are ancient titles. The Old Saxon
was cyng or cing, and cwen. For Saxons, the title designated an elected
leader. Then William came along in 1066
and made it something that’s inherited and brought along all his Normal feudal
laws.

Prior to the Normans,
the highest Saxons title was earl—in fact, William was called Wyllelm, earl of Normandize in a chronicle of 1066. But the Normans changed everything. Knights
as a title start to show up after the conquest, in the 1000’s—it was a general
term for any military leader. The Normans brought the titles of prince/princess
with them in the 1200’s (but, until the early 1600’s, only the king’s eldest
son could call himself a prince).

The Normans also tried
to change the title of earl to count—which is why an earl’s wife is called a
countess. However, count never stuck well with the Saxons, and so we’re left
with an earl and his countess.

Duke and duchess
remained a foreign title until 1338 when Edward III raised his son from Earl of
Cornwall to Duke of Cornwall (there are 26 dukedoms, other than the royal
dukedoms that go the sons of the ruling monarch).

In 1385, Richard II made Robert de Vere the
Marquess of Dublin, bringing this title into existence. The title came from the
French, which shows the strong Normal roots still hanging around.

And from the late 1300’s
we also get the title of baron.

In 1440, Henry VI made
John, Baron Beaumont, into Viscount Beaumont. Henry made the title of viscount
official, but the word had been around for almost a hundred years as a term for
an earl’s assistant (specifically as a term to denote a high sheriff).

Rounding out the list,
in 1611, James I needed cash to hang onto Ulster, which the Irish wanted back.
James created the hereditary title of baronet, and the Red Hand of Ulster
became their badge. However, baronets are not really members of the
nobility—they hold no seats in the House of Lords and the title usually comes
without lands.

So when you’re creating
a character’s past titles, all this goes into the mix.

Perhaps your character
has Norma roots in the family, and so there might be an old barony created in
the 1300’s, given to a young knight ancestor. The family may not do anything
for a few generations, but may end up with one of Henry VI’s viscount titles
for services rendered the crown. And then, perhaps for services to Charles II’s
restoration the famiy might come into a higher title, such as marquess. (Notice
how titles are like a promotion—you always get the next one up.)

Very rarely, such as was
the case with the Duke of Wellington, multiple honors may be awarded by the
crown. Wellington was heaped with titles for his victories against Napoleon’s
forces—and both lands and money came with these titles.

But what the crown
gives, the crown can also take. Treason was one reason to remove a title from a
man (and from his family)—and titles with no clear heir went into abeyance
until an heir could be found or until the crown decided they wanted to give the
title elsewhere.

BIO

Shannon
Donnelly’s Regency noveallas are now available as from Cool Gus
Publishing, as well as on Kindle, Nook, from Kobo and other ebook retailers.
Her latest book Burn Baby Burn, is an
Urban Fantasy, also out from Cool Gus Publishing, and she is now at work on
another Regency romance.

Her writing has won numerous awards, including a RITA nomination for Best Regency, the Grand Prize
in the "Minute Maid Sensational Romance Writer" contest, judged by
Nora Roberts, RWA's Golden Heart, and others. Her writing has repeatedly earned
4½ Star Top Pick reviews from Romantic Times magazine, as well as praise
from Booklist and other reviewers, who note: "simply
superb"..."wonderfully uplifting"....and "beautifully
written."

Her work has been on the top seller list of
Amazon.com and includes Paths of Desire,
a Historical Regency romance, of which Romantic Historical Lovers notes: “a
story where in an actress meets an adventurer wouldn’t normally be at the top
of my TBR pile; but I’ve read and enjoyed other books by this author and so I
thought I’d give this one a go. I’m glad I did. I was hooked and pulled right
into the world of the story from the very beginning…Highly recommended.”

She has also published young adult horror stories, is the author of
several computer games, and now lives in New Mexico with two horses, two
donkeys, two dogs, and the one love of her life. Shannon can be found online at
sd-writer.com, facebook.com/sdwriter, and twitter/sdwriter.

Welcome to Historical Hussies

Welcome to our blog for readers and writers--for anyone, really, who loves historical fiction! Joyce Moore, Donna Hatch, Shannon Donnelly, Cheryl Bolen and Linda Banche are historical fiction authors (well,okay, we confess; we're historical junkies) who decided there's a real need for a blog that covers everything historical, from ancient wedding traditions, Irish food, Roman Warfare, Regency Clothing, SCA garb -- you get the idea. So watch our blog for informative tidbits that just might figure in your next book, or give you some useless trivia to spout at the next party when you can't think of a thing to say.